Cross Country Varsity
Last Saturday, October 13, the cross country team competed at Lake Minneola for the Last Chance Invite which was their final meet of the regular season. Although the team was originally supposed to compete at the FSU Invitational Pre-State competition, hurricane Michael’s sudden emergence and strong winds canceled the original plans. “Well, I was pretty excited and looking forward to the trip. FSU had such a prestigious and beautiful course. It is my absolute favorite course I have run on so far,” said sophomore Daria Cuellar. None the less, the team was still excited to compete. This season has been marked by new records, better overall times, and new teammates. The team isn’t slowing down now. They are still running their way to the state championships.
This month’s Gator’s Student-Athletes of the Month include two top performing cross-country racers. Kyle Stella is a junior on the varsity cross country team running as the number one runner for the team through the month of September. Stella has always been one of the team’s stronger runners, but this season he is reaching new heights as he’s maturing in his racing strategies. At the Astronaut Invitational, Stella beat his personal best time by 20 seconds and finished first for the team for the first time. The second featured racer is Daria Cuellar. In the month of August, Cuellar finished first for the team in two out of the three meets as well as placed in the top 20 amongst 100+ runners in all of her races this season. Cuellar spent the summer putting in countless miles and her hard work and it’s paying off as she is running close to her personal best times. Cuellar’s role on the team goes beyond placing in races as she is this year’s girls captain, she is a positive spirit and an encouragement to her fellow female athletes.
Freshman, Amber Schulz broke the school record with an impressive time of 17:55 at the last race. She has made a huge impact on the team. Schulz is always placing high in races and is a great addition to the team. Both the boys and girls teams have consistently been placing in the top ten teams every race. This is all due to the great coaches and the hard work these athletes put in.
